


Running With Death

by Tatsurou



Category: Addams Family - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2020-12-21 11:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21074372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tatsurou/pseuds/Tatsurou
Summary: When a strange old man stumbles across a baby in a basket one Halloween Night, the Boy Who Lived finds himself with a family that's a lot more welcoming of his oddities.  After all, nothing wrong with being a little creepy and kooky...when you're an Addams.Hogwarts - and Voldemort - are in for a very different Harry this time around.





	1. Chapter 1

Professor Dumbledore cast one last look over his shoulder at the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive. The hope of the Wizarding World, the Slayer of Darkness, the Boy Who Lived sat in a basket there, a letter explaining why he was there to be tended by his relatives. Everything he'd looked into, researched, planned, and prepared for said this was the right call, that this is what would lead to the boy growing into the type of young man the Wizarding World desperately needed in order to drive back the Dark Lord when he inevitably returned. He'd long ago accepted the concept of 'necessary evil', and knew just how rough it would be for the young Potter, growing up with his magic hating relatives...but it was necessary.

...wasn't it?

With that last bit of uncertainty, the Headmaster of Hogwarts turned his back and Apparated away, leaving no trace that anything magical had happened on that street on that night, leaving only the child - protected by charms to ensure his well being - waited to be discovered by his family, when the charms that would hide him from his enemies would activate, renewed once a year when he rejoined his family.

This sequence of events was most familiar to the multiverse, as it had played out any number of times. Young Harry Potter would grow up with the Dursleys, the pain of that life variable depending on how dark that particular branch of the timeline grew, and what events had slipped in before or after depending. Either way, the young Potter would grow up unaware of magic, only to be enraptured when he discovered it and caught up in the conflicts and miracles thereof. In any number of timelines, Dumbledore's plan would carry out - as far as it went - and the name of Harry Potter would again become a Hero to the Wizarding World.

...this is not one of those timelines.

Not long after the Headmaster had vanished, a squat bald man in a long coat toddled along the street, his limbs a bit stiff with the cold of the night. He swayed back and forth with his steps, his bulging eyes spinning with or without the turning of his head as he took in everything in his surroundings, enjoying a night unlike any other. A great evil had been cast from the Darkness, and all his kind were eagerly enjoying the cleansing of their home. As he walked, though, his eyes locked on the basket. "What's this?" he asked, his voice a little gravelly as he staggered up to the doorstep. Leaning over, he saw the infant inside. "Who'd leave a baby all alone on this night of all nights? That's just asking for someone - or something - to snatch him up for something unsavory." He leaned in closer, then paused and took a sniff. "Hmm...someone's careful, though."

His eyes twisted and locked onto the lightning bolt scar just under his hair. "What's this?" Reaching forward, he pressed his finger to the scar, pulling it back as he felt the energy there. He took a sniff of his finger, and his eyes widened. "Could it be?" He placed the tip of his finger against his tongue. "It is! This boy's been touched by death...and conquered it! So young, too? How could this be?" His eyes spun to spot the letter. Curious, he slipped a long nail under the seal and easily opened the envelope without breaking it. Pulling out the parchment, he perused it.

As he read, his bulging eyes widened, and his mouth slowly split into an almost terrifying grin. "So _you_ purged the evil from the Darkness, did you lad?" he asked in pleased surprise. "At your age, that's impressive!" He frowned as he caught sight of the name of the evil. "Even if he weren't evil, no one who Runs From Death belongs in the Darkness. And now his followers want you dead?" His grin returned as he chuckled, sitting down next to the basket even as the young lad's eyes opened, staring up at him in surprise...but with no fear. "Well, now I know why you've been left here! A start like that, you belong with your clan, blood or no blood!"

Scooping the boy out of the basket, he held him up carefully as he grinned up at him. "And there's no doubt about it my boy. You...are an Addams!" As he declared that, lightning flashed out of the cloudless sky, thunder boomed...and the boy grinned from ear to ear before leaning forward to try and eat the man's thumb despite the lack of teeth. Chuckling, the old man pulled out a bone of some sort and stuck it in Harry's mouth to suck on. The smokey flavor of the reptilian phalange immediately caught his attention, and he grabbed hold of it with both hands and sucked.

"That's a good lad!" the man declared happily as he shifted some of what he was carrying into the basket before slinging it across his back, nestling the young boy into the crook of his arm. "Course, an Addams needs a father _and_ a mother to grow up right. Hmm...my brother did say he and Morticia were trying for children." He grinned down at the baby in his arm. "Come along with Uncle Fester young lad. It's time to go home."

With that said, Fester Addams set off in the one direction every Addams instinctively knew to go, the knowledge in their very blood whether they were born of the clan or brought into it because they belonged...the way home.


	2. Chapter 2

Gomez Addams stroked his mustache thoughtfully as he looked down at the small child his brother had brought him. It was plain as the nose on his face - and the mustache beneath it - that the boy was a part of the Clan Magic now, blood or no blood. Already, his tousled brown hair had darkened a bit, though it would never be the pure black that was the family norm (and never quite as bright as that of Cousin It). At the same time, he kept giggling as the sprouting mustache hairs tickled his nose, his scar glowing in the dim light that was the preferred illumination within the manor. "You've put me in a bit of a pickle, Fester my brother," he observed awkwardly.

"How's that, Gomez?" Fester asked worriedly. The last thing he'd wanted to do was impose on his brother beyond what was acceptable as family, but he _was_ the only young married male of the family who was currently living. Despite family bonds, the dead or undecided family members wouldn't do well to raise a child, as they only walked the earth one night a year. "He...he is an Addams."

"Oh yes," Gomez confirmed, kneeling down to look closer at the young lad. He seemed to be a year old at most. Old enough that nursing wasn't really a concern, but still young enough to require constant care until he'd adjusted to the macabre chaos that was the Addams' manor. Admittedly, the estate had already adapted to him somewhat, as the guard dragon was curled up around the chair the boy was set in rather than its usual post, and the various serpents that slunk through the grass had left the yard to hang from the rafters above him. He'd certainly fit right in. "He most certainly is an Addams...and that is the quandary. As a man of the Clan, I certainly cannot turn my back on a child of the family who needs parenting. However, my darling Morticia _just_ gave birth."

"Ah..." Fester allowed nervously, his eyes twitching back and forth. Morticia may have married into the Clan when she wed Gomez, but if anything she was _more_ of an Addams than any who had borne the name before she married. Not only that, every Addams male knew to step carefully around the women of the Clan when children first arrived. You never knew where they had hidden knives or who knows what, or where they would stick them if you crossed them. However, a different obligation now fell on Fester. "Congratulations, brother. Boy or girl?"

"I have a horribly beautiful baby girl," Gomez declared proudly, a bit of swagger in his step. "Wednesday will be an absolute delight as she grows up, and Morticia and I are over the moon!" His voice dipped somewhat. "But to drop another child on top of that...I do not know how Morticia will handle it."

"That is a conundrum," Fester allowed worriedly. "As delightfully chaotic and destructive as they are, children are a _lot_ of work..."

"And even with Grandmother, there's only so much of us to go around," Gomez observed thoughtfully. "She is...not exactly reliable. And as caretakers for children, that is not ideal, however delightful it is otherwise."

"I'd be happy to stick around until things are settled, if you think that will help!" Fester offered eagerly. "I brought the boy into the Clan, it's only right I help with him if it's needed or would be appreciated."

"Gladly would I welcome your help, or even just your presence my brother!" Gomez declared exuberantly. "But when the dark flower of my heart has only just now brought our sweet night tulip into the world, how am I to explain another child she did not expect as part of the family?" He turned to the chair, only for his face to pale. "Who can teleport, apparently." It was true, there was no sign of young Harry, and the guard dragon and the serpents were staring at the empty spot in shock.

"He can't have gotten far!" Fester insisted urgently as he leapt to his feet. "He must be on the grounds _somewhere!_"

"True enough," Gomez allowed, trying not to think of all the delightfully horrible and horrifyingly delightful dangers that still left as possible locations. The guillotines, the electric chairs, the acid pits, the alligator moats, the iron maidens, the flesh eating armoires, and most terrifying of all-

"Gomez, darling," a calm, quiet, gentle voice called down the stairs. "Would you and dear Fester come up here, please? It seems there's something here that needs an explanation."

-his wife. Swallowing convulsively, the pair of brothers climbed the stairs with all the enthusiasm other men might approach the executioner's block. For them, that would have been a fun vacation...especially compared to dear sweet Tish in a moment of pique.

As they entered the nursery, they found Morticia standing over Wednesday's cradle, a thoughtful frown on her face as she seemed to glide over the floor, her black dress clinging to her every curve in delightfully suggestive ways that contrasted with her pale skin and ruby lips to give the perfect image of undying beauty and terrifying sensuality...though now giving the appearance of an avenging demoness. "I freely admit I might be mistaken, darling," she began gently. "After all, between the exquisite agony of the process and the ecstasy of the bonding of first nursing, my memory of events might be a bit muddled...but I was pretty sure I only gave birth to _one_ child." She turned an arch look on the two brothers as she gestured into the crib.

Inside, Harry was sitting against the bars, glancing down in wonder at little Wednesday. The all but newborn Addams had her head in his lap and was nuzzling into him as he rested one hand in her pitch black hair.

"Ah...t-that's my fault," Fester stammered awkwardly. "See, I found the boy - his name's Harry - in England, and knew him for an Addams. So did the Clan Magic. So I brought him here..."

"Oh?" Morticia pressed, one eyebrow rising delicately on her forehead.

"He's conquered death!" Fester insisted. "And struck down the evil! We all felt that, yes?"

"Indeed?" Morticia asked, a trifle more relaxed in tone as she leaned over the young boy, idly brushing his hair aside as she took in his scar. "Goodness."

"And since a child like that needs a Father _and_ a Mother, and Fester remembered we wanted children..." Gomez began awkwardly.

"And he arrived just after we sent the announcement of Wednesday's birth?" Morticia continued, her lips turning up slightly at the corners.

"I-I'll stick around to help!" Fester promised fervently. "Please say you'll take him in, and won't hold it against my brother?"

Morticia's lips quirked up a little higher. "And how could I hold it against him?" she asked, amusement now rich in her voice. "It's not like I gave him much more warning before bringing a child into the household." She idly stroked Harry's hair. "And I can tell he'll be a credit to the clan."

Fester and Gomez both let out relieved sighs, deflating slightly as the tension left them. Gomez smiled widely. "Mi amore..." he began lovingly, stepping up behind Morticia as she gazed into the crib. "I never should have doubted-"

"No you shouldn't have," Morticia teased. "But for now, be quiet. Time enough for the chaos they'll bring awake when they wake on their own."

Glancing over her shoulder, Gomez saw that Harry had fallen asleep as well. "Sleep well, little Addams," he whispered all but silently as he cuddled against his wife.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a surprisingly short time before the Family had adjusted to Harry's presence and quirks. Harry embraced the oddities of being an Addams relatively quickly, completely at home in the creepy and cooky atmosphere. He could frequently be found laughing as he clambered around the guillotines, the acid pits, or the iron maidens like they were jungle gyms. The alligators found themselves quite unnerved when he started riding them through their moat like they were pool floats. All of this fit right in with the Addams Clan, so barely raised an eyebrow. Even things flying about when he wanted them to was nothing worth noting: they had a poltergeist cousin who'd taken up residence in some old castle in Britain that stopped by every few years. Apparently, his time sense was thrown off by something in the castle, which was why he didn't show every year like he was supposed to.

The one thing that _did _catch them off guard had to do with Wednesday. Apparently, Harry was dedicated to being a good big brother, which was nothing to get upset about. It was his methods that raised eyebrows and confused at first. It didn't matter where he or Wednesday were in the house, the moment Wednesday fussed and Harry and Wednesday weren't observed, Harry would be at her side comforting her, much to her pleasure. At first everyone fussed whenever Harry went missing, desperately searching for him...but eventually they realized that he would always appear either by Wednesday or whichever family member was closest to her where he could appear unobserved. Fester was the first to start shrugging it off. "He's been touched by Death directly," he explained to Gomez after the seventh time it had happened in the first week of his being there. "The power of Death runs in his blood and magic. Of _course_ he's going to be able to do odd things."

"Death is always just over your shoulder when you least expect him," Morticia allowed thoughtfully as she went to check on Wednesday.

Gomez let that turn over in his mind for a time, then shrugged. "He _is_ an Addams," he allowed finally. "What did I expect him to be? Normal?" At that, all three shared a warm laugh.

As such, whenever Harry pulled his disappearing act, whoever had been watching him would immediately look in on Wednesday. Nine times out of ten, he'd be right there. The tenth time he'd be clinging to the small of the back of whoever had been watching him to play hide-and-seek.

It was when it came to toys for him in his crib that Gomez and Morticia actually came close to a fight, however,

"A sword?" Morticia asked her husband archly. "Really?"

"But of course!" Gomez replied assertively. "Why not a sword?"

"Do you really think it's appropriate for a child his age?" Morticia replied with a hint of coldness in his voice.

Gomez glanced into Harry's playpen at the spiked steel ball, the dolls with razor sharp teeth, the flail, the cannon, the miscellaneous bubbly things he'd managed to swipe from Granny's potion making that ate away at their containers unless watched, the chained creature that was only fully there if you _weren't_ watching, and Gomez' backup foil in its sheath that Harry was presently gripping by the hilt while teething on the guard. "Should I treat the blade with poison first?" Gomez asked uncertainly. "I was going to let him make that choice when he was old enough to think it all through-"

"And you don't think waiting until you can teach him to use it might be a good idea?" Morticia pressed.

"He'll learn as I did!" Gomez declared proudly. "Besides, people want him dead! He must know how to defend himself!"

"If he starts swinging that around, he's as likely to wound friend or family as enemy," Morticia pointed out reasonably.

Gomez returned a blank look. "...yes?" he asked uncertainly, failing to see where in Morticia's logic she was presenting a _problem_.

Morticia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "He's not big enough for a full sized foil. He can't even get it out of the sheath without help."

"Oh!" Gomez declared in understanding. "He needs a weapon sized to him! What a dunce I've been, beloved! I shall forge it right away!" With that, he dashed off to the forges, Lurch following slowly along. Though he didn't say much, the Family Caretaker had obviously taken a shine to the newest members of the family, eagerly if slowly moving to help with anything they needed. He would work the bellows as Gomez forged Harry's new toy.

Morticia shook her head ruefully. "Well, it was either that or a bamboo sword-" She stopped talking as a 'crunch' was heard. Turning, she saw something had taken a bite out of the wooden bars of the playpen. They were more decoration than necessity as Harry would happily stay where he was told unless he was warping to someone else. "Metal's definitely a better choice," she allowed finally. Turning further, she saw Harry was no longer teething on the foil. In point of fact, he was no longer in the playpen. Sighing, Morticia walked into the other room where she found Harry entertaining Wednesday by floating the pair of them through the macabre mobiles like a flying obstacle course. Smiling softly, she sat down to watch, rather unsurprised that before long they floated into her lap for cuddles, and for Wednesday to nurse.

* * *

As none of the Addams knew the exact date of Harry's birth - that hadn't been included in the letter explaining everything else - they chose to celebrate his birthday on the day of his induction into the Clan, on Halloween Night...which just so happened to be the same day Wednesday was born. As such, Harry's second birthday - and Wednesday's first - became an excessively lavish celebration decorated in an excess of black and gold, with silver tinsel hung everywhere that stayed put long enough. Lurch didn't seem to mind the glittering chains hung around his shoulders as he walked around with plates, punch, cake, and spiders.

Though there were numerous presents presented to the youngsters - many of which wound up impaling the cake to take pieces for themselves - the highlights were those Gomez had crafted in the forge. For Wednesday, he had crafted a rather elegant crossbow that he felt would suit her quite well. She promptly used it to launch a knife into a tree just off the property. A startled squawk heralded the fall of a particularly cheerful bluebird that had been irritating her for a month or more. "It's perfect, darling," Morticia praised warmly.

The surprise was Harry's gift, however. At first glance, it seemed to be a foil short enough for even a two year old to use, the blade less than a foot long. However, the guard was much larger than what a blade that long would normally require, and under it was what looked like a phone dial right where one's thumb would be. When spun, the blade would extend or retract from any size between a thumb long stiletto to a full length foil. "That way as he grows into it, it can grow with him!" Gomez explained happily. "Took a bit of tinkering to make it work right, which my dear brother helped me with."

"My pleasure, Gomez!" Fester replied eagerly as he watched Harry spin the blade back and forth happily, extending and retracting it while swinging it about. "Took a bit to figure out the right mechanism so the blade would maintain full integrity at any length, and a bit of out of the box thinking. I'm rather proud of it!"

"It's wonderful, you two," Morticia praised happily. "Though I fear my present to everyone will outshine them."

"Oh?" Gomez asked eagerly as everyone turned to look at her. "What is it, mi amore?"

"A new member of the clan," she replied warmly as light seemed to draw away from her until only her eyes were visible. "I'm having a baby."

"Really?" Fester gasped out excitedly as Harry and Wednesday both lit up in glee.

"When?" Gomez asked just as eagerly.

Morticia smiled mysteriously. "Right now."

* * *

Three excruciatingly wonderful hours later, Harry and Wednesday were ensconced with their new baby brother, a chubby little thing called Pugsley. As the adults watched them, Fester spoke up. "I think it might be a good idea to stop at three for a while," he observed idly as he bent over the crib.

"What makes you say that?" Morticia asked curiously.

Fester's hand suddenly snaked out, snatching the crossbow-launched spiked pacifier before it could drive into Pugsley's ear and cause brain damage. As Wednesday smiled innocently, Fester turned back over his shoulders. "Let's just say...I have a hunch." He grinned impishly at everyone.

Lurch let out a woeful groan as he set down the diaper hamper, having now found something _much_ worse than having to clean that.


	4. Chapter 4

The Addams' children grew rapidly, as children are wont to do. Harry grew somewhat skinny and lanky at first, though he seemed to possess strength that belied his frame, especially when wielding his sword. Wednesday had taken to carrying her crossbow everywhere as soon as she and Harry started walking. Pugsley grew more out than up, and became ambulatory much later.

At the age of five, Harry appeared every inch an Addams. His hair had grown out and hung down, covering his scar and otherwise shaping a pleasant bowl cut, and he dressed in black with bronze filigree. He tended to avoid getting involved in the rivalry that had developed between Wednesday and Pugsley, seeming to absentmindedly redirect any projectiles she launched at the rather large target without touching them in much the same way he'd sent things flying about when younger. Wednesday seemed to take that as a challenge to get one through that Harry either didn't or couldn't redirect without conscious effort, determined to catch him deliberately interfering. Their antics mightily amused their parents and Uncle.

Though Harry mastered walking before Wednesday, he didn't actually start wandering around until she was able to walk with him. Now that they were both walking, they'd taken to playing outside together where Pugsley wasn't able to follow them yet. It was on such a day that Harry had his first real adventure as an Addams.

Wednesday had made a folded paper Viking funeral boat, and carried it to the street to set it where water flowed towards the storm drain. "Do you have the fire?" she asked Harry calmly.

Harry calmly snapped his fingers, a flame burning on the tip of his index finger without harming him. "Always, dear sister," he replied warmly. "The passions of an Addams are always ready to ignite."

A roll of the eyes and the slightest hint of a smile were Wednesday's only response to his playful banter as she set the boat down in the water before lifting her crossbow. "A light, then," she said, nocking an arrow and taking aim with her crossbow. The head was dried wood treated with cooking fat, and would ignite the moment flame touched it.

Before Harry could move, however, the boat sped along the channel to be sucked down the drain with an oddly malicious sound.

Wednesday frowned at that. "It was supposed to burn to ash, not go down a whirlpool. That's a different adventure."

"Yes, we did that last week," Harry confirmed. "Never fear, I'll go fetch it." With that, he strode forward gaily before hopping up. Putting his feet together, he slipped into the storm drain with a wiggle and a swish.

Wednesday moved close to listen, idly concerned for whatever Harry encountered down there. Very few things deserved to be on the receiving end of Addams antics without warning.

"Well, well, well..." a scratchy voice growled out wickedly, echoing from the drain. "What brings you down here, little boy?"

"I'd like that boat back please, Mr. Clown," Harry's voice replied energetically. "My sister wasn't done playing with it."

"Well, you don't need to worry much about that," the voice chuckled. "Call her down to join us. We all float down here..."

There was silence for a moment. "You know, that would be a lot more intimidating if your teeth were clean," Harry observed calmly.

"...what?" the other voice demanded in confusion.

"Teeth that long need to be razor sharp for the right fear factor, but those look like they're on the verge of breaking," Harry pointed out. There was a flick of dentin and a startled oath. "But these have so many cavities, they'd probably break before my skin would if you tried to bite me. Not to mention the little light down here reflecting off the suddenly exposed gleaming fangs would add a whole new element to the experience. Rather sub par, I must say."

There was silence for a time. "Well..." the scraggly voice stated quietly as an odd echo followed. "You're of sterner stuff than my normal prey." A disturbingly organic squelch erupted from the drain as the voice shifted to echo oddly. "But you will taste true fear...and then I will taste your soul-"

"Now that's more like it!" Harry declared excitedly. "How did you fit so much mass and so many joints in a humanoid leg? And so articulate!"

"Hey, stop that!" the echoing voice demanded. "I am a fierce fear predator, not some toy to-wait, stop! That doesn't bend that way-"

"Oh, I'm sure if you flex enough-" A crackling crunch of a twisted exoskeleton interrupted Harry's words, followed by an animalistic shriek of pain. "Wow, you really should have invested in better flexion. You know how terrifying impossible bodily contortions can be?"

"That's it!" the echoing voice declared angrily. "I'll taste your flesh first, and taste your fear when I've left you in limbless agony!" The crash of bone striking stone echoed, followed by a crumbling sound.

"...wow," Harry murmured softly, the sound still echoing up out of the drain to where Wednesday was listening calmly.

"Now you know fear-"

"That was pathetic," Harry sighed in resignation. "You know how old the stonework is down here? I could have done that without even touching it." There was a loud crack, followed by a much louder crumbling and crashing sound of falling rock. "See?"

"You...you...!" the echoing voice declared, rage mixed with fear now. "Taste my deadlights!" An unholy light blazed out of the drain. Wednesday shaded her eyes to keep from being overwhelmed between that and the sunlight. It was a bit brighter than was comfortable.

Harry gasped in wonder. "Ectoluminescent organs? Granny would _love_ those for her potions!" The distinctive 'shwing' sound of his foil extending could be heard.

"Wait, what-" the voice began, only to scream as another squelch echoed. "Stop, please, I beg you!"

"Oh don't be a baby," Harry chided idly, an organic plop underlying his words. "You'll heal. Now what else would she like-"

"I want my Mommy!" the formerly angry voice cried out in fear and pain.

Several more squelching sounds, the swish of Harry's sword, and the sound of capping jars followed, ending with the sound of something slithering away. Shortly afterwards, Harry climbed out of the drain. In one hand he held the boat. In the other he held his foil, dripping grue. Numerous jars filled with unidentifiable chunks of flesh - some glowing ethereally - hung on his back. A bit of odd colored blood speckled his outfit, and his boots were coated in sewer gunk, but he was otherwise immaculate. Not even his hair had shifted. Setting the jars down once he was out, he gave Wednesday back the boat before once more igniting his finger. "Where were we?"

Smiling, Wednesday set the boat back in the water - where it stayed very still save for seeming to be pushed _away_ from the storm drain by an unseen force - and lifted her crossbow.

* * *

As Harry had anticipated, Granny _adored_ the new contributions to her mystic arts, and began eagerly tutoring the young Addams in her mysteries. He proved both an apt and eager pupil.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry grinned eagerly as he locked eyes on the last autumn leaf still clinging to the tree just off the property. He could feel the chill of the night as his family gathered, but he could also feel something much stronger. He could feel the Clan Magic gathering, flowing and surging through the grounds, the family members, and stretching out and beyond all the way across several seas. The power of the Clan Magic was astounding, and surging to a peak as the leaf shifted slightly in the wind.

He'd witnessed the ceremony of this night a few times from inside the house. On the night when the last leaf of Autumn fell, the family ancestors would be summoned from beyond to walk the earth for the night with the family. He'd met several of the ancestors and learned their stories, spending the night with each and every one of them. (While he wasn't supposed to pick favorites, his was Ugg Addams, the first of the line who had discovered his fascination with the macabre shortly after leaving the trees with the rest of his people through grave digging; first as a means to hide from predators, and later as a means of disposing of unwelcome residue of life). However, he was always too young to participate in the ritual itself before tonight.

This year, however, he would be participating. Not only that, by that self-same tradition he would be the one to Call the ancestors through the Magic. It was a lot of responsibility, which is why it had waited until now. He could feel his excitement growing as he listened to his parents and Uncle singing about the obligations of being an Addams, and how one was supposed to conduct themselves as an Addams. He'd heard it all each previous year, and as always it was presented in a most flamboyant style. Next year, he'd be adding his own line to the song as he expressed his individual darkness, the uniqueness he shared with the family that added to and enhanced the Magic. He'd probably spend most of the year until then contemplating his entire existence to sum it up in that one line. It was a lot to think about. For now, however, he was going to simply focus on the song as it existed so far, and focus on what it meant to be an Addams, to be a member of the family.

Seeing Morticia gesturing him forward as the last leaf fell, Harry stepped up to between them. Gathering his voice, he proclaimed, "And on this special night beneath our family tree, we summon...our beloved ancestors!" As he finished the declaration, he snatched the leaf from the air, feeling it crumble to dust in his hands as he felt his own magic surge with that of the Clan. As he watched, the graves and mausoleums opened, and the ancestors climbed out as they sang the call of the Return.

As they all arose, Gomez got ready to start leading them in the dance steps they enjoyed so much...but he hesitated. "Something feels...off," he murmured thoughtfully.

"Like some ancestors are still missing?" Morticia offered helpfully. "I feel it too."

"Let me do a quick head count," Fester offered eagerly before turning to start counting. "Let's see, one...two...three...hold yours up higher so I can count it, Franciose! Four...five, six-no, that's only five even if you do have two, Helter Skelter! No, I don't care if you each have a distinct persona, the magic counts you as one and so do I! Six..."

Lurch let out a moan, turning as he pointed to the East.

"Really?" Gomez asked in surprise. "But all the Ancestors are buried on family land! We brought them all with us when we moved! The land too, for that matter."

"Not...all," Harry murmured as he felt his own magic stretched into the beyond, twanging strongly as he felt two echoes coming back.

"Well," Morticia mused as she stared up to see two specters zooming through the sky, "this is unexpected, though not unwelcome." She walked forward as the two ghosts stabilized on the ground. One was an older man about Gomez' age, with tousled hair much like Harry's had been before the Clan Magic had changed him, and shared many of Harry's facial features. The other was a woman about Morticia's age, with rather lovely features and Harry's eyes. It was through her the Clan Magic pulsed from Harry to the male ghost. "James and Lily Potter, I presume?" she asked softly.

Lily jerked back in surprise. "What? How do you-" She glanced down at herself. "But...that was the Killing Curse! That doesn't leave ghosts!"

James looked around briefly, and his eyes widened. "Addams?!" he gasped out in awed shock.

"Our reputation precedes us," Gomez chuckled playfully.

"Addams?" Lily asked James in confusion.

"Remember what I told you about the Oldest Dark?" James whispered urgently. "The Dark that predated the concept of Evil, which was why I felt so comfortable befriending Sirius?"

Lily's eyes widened. "Goodness! But...why are we here? And how?"

"It is the night our ancestors walk," Morticia explained softly. "As for why it brought you as well..." Gliding over, she gently pulled Harry forward. "We have someone in common."

James and Lily gasped as they stared, then lowered themselves down to his level. "Harry?" James asked in surprise. "Is...is that you?"

"My baby..." Lily whispered, floating forward with her arms outstretched. "So grown up already..."

Much to both specters' surprise, Harry stepped forward and pulled them into a hug, actually physically interacting with them. "Hi Mom, hi Dad," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "It's nice to meet you. Have you met Mom and Dad?"

While Lily blinked in confusion, James burst into sorrowful chuckles, joined more joyfully by Gomez and Fester. "How'd you end up with these nutjobs?" James asked, gesturing to the rest of the clan, nothing but respect in his tone. "I mean, Sirius is your Godfather, and even if he couldn't take you, I don't think Dumbledore would have put you here." He glanced around. "Not that I can think of a safer place..."

"Well, the letter did say he needed to be with his family to be safe," Fester pointed out. "And conquering death when barely a year old? Slaying the Evil in the Dark and scattering his followers? Blood or no blood, he's an Addams, so of course he belongs here!"

"Slaying?" Lily gasped in shock. "Voldemort...is dead?"

"Wait, _that's_ the name it went by?" Gomez asked in disdain. "One who runs from death has no place in the Dark! Had I known, I would have tracked him down and filleted him as he deserved!" He drew his sword and swung it a few times to demonstrate his point.

"Umm...don't you mean flayed?" Lily asked uncertainly.

"Oh, there likely would have been a good bit of flaying involved in the filleting," James observed with a smirk. "Lily, Addams don't think like the rest of the world...either side."

"You mean we don't?" Harry pointed out with a smile.

James' head jerked back in shock. "Really?" he asked in surprise.

"The clan magic brought you to us on this night," one of the ancestors - a black garbed corpse half covered in burns - scratched out through her half of an esophagus. "Only the family dead are called."

"Well said, Salem!" Gomez declared proudly. "And if you caused so much trouble for him that he came for you personally and got killed, then you certainly fit in with us...if you wish to?"

James and Lily exchanged surprised glances, and then Lily turned to Harry. "Harry...are you happy here?"

Harry nodded with a smile. "I am, Mom."

"And I can see you are loved-" Lily cut off her voice as Wednesday came running out, glomping onto Harry's arm possessively. Lily let out a quiet squee. "Oh, I wish I had a camera..."

"Rrrrnghhh..." Lurch declared as he lifted a camera, snapping a picture of Harry and Wednesday, Harry glancing towards the girl clinging to his arm in mild amusement and affection.

"Well, I can't think of a single reason to say no," James pointed out to Lily. "You?"

"No," Lily agreed. "And I can see many reasons to say yes." She turned to Morticia. "We would gladly consider you all family, if you're certain you want to have us."

Morticia smiled warmly. "Welcome to the family, sister," she intoned, stepping forward and enveloping Lily in a warm embrace.

"Have a drink, brother!" Gomez declared, offering James a tankard...which, to his surprise, he was able to take.

Harry felt the Clan magic - which had been spread so dilute in animating the dead and undecided Clan members - surge as a huge infusion of power joined. "There's so much I'd like to ask," Harry pressed hopefully.

James smiled warmly. "We have all night to talk, son."

"Not quite!" Gomez pointed out as he stood up. "Now that we're all here...Line Dance!"

With that declaration, the entire family leapt to their feet, dancing away as a Clan, as it should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugg Addams is a tribute to a good friend of mine in theater. In a recent performance of the Addams' Family Musical, he was one of the Ancestors...a caveman. Ugg Addams founding the line through digging graves to hide in was the backstory we came up with for the character, and I had to include it.


	6. Chapter 6

Once the entire family had finished dancing - extended a good bit to celebrate the addition of new family members - Gomez, Morticia, Fester, James, Lily, and Harry sat down together over tea to talk about everything they needed to discuss. Wednesday had tried to join in, but joining in on the dancing had drained her more than she'd realized. Harry had compromised by tucking her in next to the roaring fireplace...before shushing the fireplace to a whisper, much to its disgruntlement. Once everyone was settled, Gomez spoke up. "The first thing we need to know is where you're buried," he said to James and Lily. "That way we can move you to the Addams' Mausoleum where you belong, and next year you can have your bodies to dance with."

"Wouldn't work," James pointed out dryly. "The Killing Curse breaks the bond between life, soul, and body. That's why it doesn't leave ghosts. Even with the magic calling us back, we wouldn't be able to infuse our bodies without that link."

"Not to mention there doesn't appear to be any _practical_ difference between being a ghost like this and having our bodies," Lily pointed out, a trifle bit of hesitance in her voice. "We can touch, and taste, and food isn't falling through us..." She glanced down at her seat after taking a sip of tea, just to be sure. "So..." She hesitated,, uncertain if her next observation would be unwelcome.

"Oh, no desecration will be involved, dear," Morticia observed warmly. "We'll just take the whole mausoleum and transfer it here, dirt included. That way your ancestors can join us next year, too."

"If they want to," Gomez allowed apologetically. "Some of the ancestors that are brought into the clan through marriage are rather finicky about their traditions, and we allow them that. The ancestors are _invited_ to return tonight, not required."

"But...how will you keep people from noticing an entire family mausoleum vanishing?" Lily asked worriedly. Noticing the odd looks she was getting, she sighed. "You aren't going to bother hiding what you're doing, are you?"

"Why would we?" Fester asked in confusion. "The only reason to be doing that would be to try and make things seem _normal_." He all but spat the word in distaste.

As Lily frowned worriedly, James laid a hand on her shoulder. "Lily, the Ad-..._our_ clan predates the Secrecy Act," he explained, getting warm smiles from everyone for that change to his speech. "And due to...certain negotiations, it doesn't apply to them."

"Wait, you mean this family _isn't_ required to keep magic a secret?" Lily asked in surprise. "Why not?"

"Because no one dared to try and enforce it!" Granny cackled happily as she stumped over, carrying a large bowl and a few vials that glowed with otherworldly light. Slamming the bowl down on the table, she began shaking the vials. "Now, I'm sure we all want answers, right?" She pushed the bottles over to Harry. "The questions are regarding you specifically, so you pour when it's time. You know which ones to do in which order for this scrying."

Nodding, Harry picked up the golden bottle and gave it a vigorous shake, which made James' eyes widen in a mix of shock and horror. "Please tell me you won't be so blase when you attend Hogwarts..." he murmured worriedly.

"Hogwarts, you say?" Granny gasped in surprise. "Well I'll be, haven't heard that name in a while. Tell me, is ol' Alby still running things?"

"Ol'...Alby?" Lily asked, somewhat shell shocked. "You mean...Headmaster Albus Dumbledore?"

"He's Headmaster now?" Granny asked, amused. "And here I thought he preferred running things from the shadows." She snorted derisively. "Maybe it's a good thing he declined when I set my hat for him." She turned to Harry. "When you see him, make sure to tell him 'Miss Black Sabbath' asked after him."

"You were a calendar girl, Granny?" Fester asked in a tone somewhere between shock and horror.

"Calendar nothing, that's the name I used for Hugh!" Granny countered with a wicked cackle as she enjoyed the looks of horrified fascination spread on the faces of her family.

"Speaking of England!" James declared rather too quickly. "One thing I'm curious about...if Harry wasn't placed with Sirius, where did you find him Fester?"

"Oh, he was left on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive," Fester explained readily. "Home of Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley." He coughed out a phlegmball of disgust. "A disgustingly normal family, just _terrible_ for an Addams to grow up in. They'd have made him afraid of the Dark!"

"Ah, my sister's family," Lily observed with a bit of distaste. "I wonder why he wasn't left with Sirius? He is his Godfather..."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Granny suggested to Harry.

Nodding, Harry poured the potion into the bowl. The liquid swirled before turning an odd silver.

"A Pensieve?" James asked in surprise.

"Not exactly," Granny explained. "_The_ Pensieve. Gramps made this, and all other Pensieves are based off of it, though not completely. This one can access _all_ memories of _anyone_, though its existence is one secret we keep to the family...even if this is the first time I've been able to activate it in years, thanks to the ingredients Harry brought me." She cast the young boy an affectionate look.

As the liquid swirled in the bowl, Harry leaned forward and breathed into it. "What about Sirius?" he asked the bowl.

The liquid frothed and bubbled...and an image of a courtroom appeared, a man with dark hair bound in chains and gagged writhing angrily in a chair in the center. An authoritative voice could be heard speaking.. _"...for your betrayal of James and Lily Potter, noble Warriors of the Light, and for the death of Peter Pettigrew and more than fifty Muggles in violation of the International Statute of Wizard Secrecy, you, Sirius Black, are hereby sentenced to Life in Azkaban without parole..."_

As the chained figure snarled in fury, almost chewing through the metal and magic gag, he was dragged off. The image then faded. "What?" James demanded in shock. "But Sirius _wasn't_ our Secret Keeper. We changed to Peter at the last minute without telling anyone. Sirius said no one would believe we'd do that, which made us all the safer since Peter wouldn't be targeted."

"Well, that answers that, then," Gomez declared firmly. "Plainly Peter betrayed you and pinned the whole thing on Sirius. We'll just have to tell the Wizarding World-"

"Officially, it's impossible for James and Lily to exist as ghosts," Morticia pointed out. "Where can we say we got the information?"

Gomez hesitated. "You're right of course, dear," he allowed, turning to Fester. "Only one thing for it, then. We'll find this Azkaban and bust our boy's Godfather out! We won't let someone who's obviously family rot in jail for something he didn't do!"

James coughed awkwardly. "Thing is...while Sirius certainly didn't betray us, he definitely _would_ have gone after Peter for betraying us, and...he could get really emotional, especially with his use of magic. Blasting his to smithereens - and accidentally getting a whole bunch of other people caught in the blast - sounds all too believable for him."

"Well I can hardly blame him if he did!" Lily insisted urgently. "And even so, we can't just leave him surrounded by Dementors-"

"Dementors?" Morticia asked in surprise. "Is _that_ all they have guarding the place? How has no one escaped with that little in the way of defenses? All it takes is being in tune with your innermost Dark and they can't affect you at all." She smiled a trifle wickedly. "And watching them scurry away in fear is oddly satisfying."

"In that case, he'll be fine!" Gomez replied easily. "Those things make you relive your darkest moment to crush you in fear and despair, but his is bound to be learning Peter betrayed you. _That_ will fill him with righteous fury, and they won't be able to weaken him that way. He might be a little stir crazy and gaunt, but he'll be fine until we can confirm the true facts of the situation." He raised a finger. "But for a vengeful attack and accidentally killing a bunch of bystanders...that shouldn't give him more than 13 years. If he's still in there after that long, I'll break him out no matter what the facts!"

"So by the time Harry's 14, then," Lily allowed worriedly. "I hope he lasts long enough-"

"Grrrngh..." Lurch spoke up from outside, a massive mausoleum strapped to his back.

"Just set it by the family mausoleum, that's a dear Lurch," Morticia instructed. Nodding, Lurch moved to place the structure and its contents.

"H...how did he get there and back so fast?" James asked in shock.

"A rather adorable Inari Okami has a thing for him, and they have gates all over the place," Morticia explained easily, chuckling motherly. "She's always happy to pop him back and forth when he needs to go far." Seeing the looks she was getting, she chuckled again. "Apparently, he gives the best head pats and makes the best fried tofu in history."

"Grrrggghhh..." Lurch groaned out with a smile as he walked towards the kitchen, brushing his hands off and seeming to glow with relaxed joy.

"I...genuinely don't know how to respond to that," James allowed uncertainly.

* * *

"I'm sorry, someone's stolen _what_?" Dumbledore demanded, his eyes wide and his beard sticking out in all directions. "Minister, are you feeling alright?"

Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, ran his fingers through his hair to dissipate a nervous sweat. "The Potter Mausoleum, along with the bodies of Lily and James," he continued. "And right in broad daylight in front of Wizards and Muggles alike! This huge, gaunt, sallow, half-dead looking man just walks up out of nowhere, digs his hands into the dirt, and hefts the entire mausoleum with all the graves and dirt involved onto his back before marching off! And as best we can tell, there was no spell involved! Somehow he did that by main strength!"

"Even if that was possible, he couldn't have traveled that fast!" Dumbledore insisted. "How did he get away?"

"He walked into a shrine gate that wasn't there before he arrived and vanished, building and all."

"So _yokai_ are involved then," Dumbledore allowed. "That's...actually a relief. While certainly a concern, nothing to panic about. Just...fill in the crater left behind and convince everyone there was never a mausoleum there...or that it got bulldozed and moved for code violations or something. I have some agents among the Yokai who can help me figure this out, and I'll give you the answers once I have them."

Nodding, Cornelius' face disappeared from the fire. Taking another pinch from the nearby pouch, Dumbledore tossed it into the flame. "Inari High Command," he instructed the flame.

The flame turned green, then violet...and then a rather irritated face appeared. "I know what you're calling about Albus," the woman replied.

"You do, Yozora?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, and I'm _already_ calling Shiro to task about that," the woman replied with a frustrated sigh. "I've got to go quick, though. There's still so much dirt left behind from his passage. I should have seen this coming when she took up with an Addams..." The connection quickly faded out.

Dumbledore slumped back in his desk, stumped. Of all the replies he'd expected, _that_ was not one of them. "Well bollocks..." he finally said, summing up his views on the situation in a nutshell.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry smiled to himself as he awoke the next morning. While his parents were now back in the realm of the dead, that was just next door as far as an Addams was concerned. Having both sides of his family together made his whole world seem complete, the one bit that had long been missing now present. Admittedly, he was a bit upset that his apparent Godfather, Sirius, was locked up in prison rather than with them where he belonged...but he could always pop in on him. He _was_ family, after all. Actually, that sounded like a rather good idea.

Letting himself sink into the Family Magic, he stepped out of his bed clothes and into a more formal day wear. Once he was dressed, he focused through the family magic, seeking the connection. He didn't entirely know _how_ this worked, just that it did. It was easier if the family member he was seeking needed him, as then he could feel them reaching out to him - which is why it was so easy to do this to reach Wednesday - but he could do it on his own if the reason was important enough. And meeting his godfather - and making sure that he was alright - was a valid reason as far as he was concerned.

There it was. The connection was tenuous at best, since he wasn't truly an Addams yet - he hadn't been officially adopted into the clan as Harry had, and through Harry his ancestors - but he had the right mindset as far as the darkness, and being his Godfather made it a bit easier. Sinking into the Family Magic, he stepped back-

"Whoa there, kiddo!" someone said in a thick Jamaican accent as he was pulled back into normal reality, a firm grip on his shoulder. "That sorta step unaided ain't exactly a good idea, don'tcha know. How'd you even manage to do it? I don't smell any blood connection."

Turning, Harry saw he was in the front yard, under the Living Tree, what James had called a Whomping Willow. Looking up, he saw a man with pale white skin clad in a dark hooded robe with a scythe slung easily over his shoulder gripping his shoulder firmly, his grip unusually stiff. On second look, Harry realized the man's skin was...bone white. Also, his eyes seemed almost to be...holes in his face, but not unnaturally so. Uncertain, Harry gathered his magic with that of the Family Magic as he let his sword slip from his sleeve into his hand, ready to extend the blade.

The man chuckled darkly. "Oh put that away, boyo," he chided. "You won't be besting me with that little poker, no matter how big it gets." He shifted the scythe in his grip, and the blade rippled in the light, seeming to be not quite there.

Recognizing what this meant, Harry relaxed and slipped his sword back up his sleeve. "Harry Addams," he greeted, holding his hand out to shake. "Uncle Fester adopted me into the clan-"

"Oh, you're _that_ one!" the man declared, an amused expression on his face. "Been feeling what you've been doing to the Clan Magic for years. Only came looking cause I felt ya slip out. Without a focus tool to make the gates, steppin' out like that can be dangerous. If yer destination ain't strong enough anchored, you slip out entirely, and without an experienced guide ta find ya, ya can be lost forever."

"Well, I'd be _somewhere_," Harry allowed. "I'm sure I'd find my way back _eventually_...next year last night if no later, when the Ancestors came back again. That's a pretty strong beacon."

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise...then burst into raucous laughter. "Well ain't you a right spitfire!" he declared proudly. He patted Harry on the head, mussing his hair a bit. He was unsurprised to see it settle back into its former look...but _was_ surprised when he spotted the scar in the meantime. "What's this now?" Parting Harry's hair, he took a closer look. A dark frown crossed his face, the flesh of his face seeming to fade a bit to reveal bone. "Oh, so _that's_ why I ain't claimed him yet...cheating bastard..." Touching the scar, he tasted his bone fingertip. "Hmm...gonna be a while with that many..."

"I'll be sure to get him to you when the time is right, sir," Harry promised happily.

"Nah, don't sir me!" the man declared jovially. "I'm family, after all-"

"Grampa Grim!" Granny suddenly declared happily, stumping out into the yard. "What brings you here in the now? It's been years!"

'Grandpa Grim's eyes widened in surprise. "Tabby, is that you?" he asked in surprise. "I thought for sure I'd collected you at some point!"

"You did!" Granny replied happily. "You've been time hopping again, so you haven't already done it yet. Besides, I got bored."

"You're gonna get me in trouble bouncing around like that," Grim chided playfully.

"Thanks for fishing this one out," Granny spoke up, grabbing Harry by his ear and tugging him to her. "Reckless idiot thought he could Deathwalk halfway around the world to someone he'd never met without so much as an anchor! Think you can take the time to teach him better?"

"Not for a few years, I'm afraid," Grim apologized. "Ain't been around cause I wound up stuck with a couple brats of my own. Was wondering why a bloody hamster was on my 'in person' collection list..."

Granny snorted in surprise. "You lost a game? I find that hard to believe."

Grim spat irritably. "The girl went and cheated, had the bloody hamster try and eat me when going for the final limbo."

"Limbo?" Granny asked in surprise. She leaned forward and gave the scythe a sniff. A wicked grin crossed her face. "But she'll be worth it in a decade or so, eh?" she teased playfully.

"Hey!" Grim countered irritably. "I ain't no cradle robber!"

"You're ageless, gramps!" Granny taunted playfully. "Been wondering when you'd tap someone to bring into the Clan. Sides, I see you've already taken the same peek I just did." She cackled wickedly.

"Grim!" an irritable female voice snapped out of the scythe.

Grim sighed, rubbing his face. "Yeesh...even stepping back in time doesn't gimme much free time from that witch..."

Granny cackled happily. "She'll fit right in! Go see to your 'BFF'," she teased. "I got this one." She gave Harry's ear another tug.

Groaning in frustration, Grim turned and swung his scythe at the air. A howling vortex appeared where it cut, and he stepped through. It quickly closed behind him.

"Deathwalking?" Harry asked curiously. "Is _that_ what I've been doing-"

"Now don't you get any ideas!" Granny snapped, yanking hard on his ear. "I've invested too much in teaching you to see you waste it by hopping into the void cause you aren't properly instructed. You wait until you're nine before you try hopping to your Godfather again, got it? Now come on!" She tugged him towards the manor. "I'll see about getting Gomez ta send you to Endsville for schooling once you turn 8. Then at least Gramps will have a chance to properly instruct you..."

Harry tolerated the tugging. He was looking forward to learning his skill properly to care about the pain...and besides, it was honestly rather enjoyable. There was a certain zest to it...


	8. Chapter 8

Over the next few years, Harry studied dutifully both the Addams' lore and general education, preparing himself to be enrolled in public school come the third grade. To the surprised amusement of the adults of the family, Wednesday studied even harder, to the point she was at the same level as Harry and would test into the third grade around the same time he enrolled. On the Nights of the Ancestors, Lily had commented just how adorable that was. James, meanwhile, had also instructed Harry about the Wizarding World, not wanting him caught off guard when that came to call. He became somewhat unnerved when his instruction in that regard while Harry was six led to Harry channeling spells through his sword when he was seven. After that came the laws of the Wizarding World, as far as what would apply to Harry.

Harry had attempted to teach Wednesday to tap Wizarding magic a few times, only to be flummoxed as time and time again the magic refused to respond to her. Despite the best efforts of all involved, no one could explain it...though Granny suggested asking Gramps when next they met, as he knew many answers. Harry made a mental note to be certain to do that.

Still, when Harry turned eight, Gomez and Morticia were confident that he was ready to attend Elementary School. He was now certain of himself as an Addams that he could safely be introduced to 'normality' without being indoctrinated by it. Wednesday also seemed to be ready both personally and academically, as long as she was placed in the same class as Harry. As such, the family took a trip down to Endsville to see about enrolling Harry and Wednesday there.

When they arrived, all of them felt an odd thrill. The city of Endsville was steeped in eldritch energies, like a supernatural disaster waiting to happen. The slightest tip of the energies in the wrong way could cause a cataclysmic disaster the likes of which the world had never seen before, and even crack the world. "Why have we never been here before?" Gomez declared eagerly as they felt it thrum through them.

"I think we've found our new vacation hot spot," Morticia purred happily, shivering in delight as she actively tapped the eldritch powers, her dress and hair waving of its own accord.

It didn't take them long to find the Elmentary school, a depressingly normal structure that was a bright blue and couldn't have been more 'standard' if it tried. "Why would a place this rich in the eldritch have been reduced to such...mundanity?" Morticia complained sadly.

"Grrrghhhnnn..." Lurch pointed out thoughtfully.

"A defense mechanism?" Gomez asked, surprised. "Well, I suppose that's one way to make sure the town doesn't explode...not that I can think why you wouldn't want it to."

"Rebuilding an entire town is probably expensive," Fester pointed out. "And this place is..._exceptionally_ volatile."

"Good point," Gomez allowed thoughtfully as they made their way into the school, seeking the school Principal to handle paperwork and the like. Lurch had everything they needed in that regard in a chest he was carrying.

As it turned out, the school Principal was an elderly man in a brown suit with a kindly voice. "So you are the Addams Family?" he asked politely. "A pleasure to meet you all. I am Principal Goodvibes. I understand you are enrolling your children here?"

"That's right," Gomez confirmed happily, reaching into the chest and pulling out the papers required. "They are both educated to a third grade level, and we felt that this school would be good for growing into themselves in a...controlled environment."

"We do try to do our best by our students, and it's my own personal goal that they are always happy to be here," Principal Goodvibes replied happily as he looked over the paperwork, not noticing the traded looks of distaste Gomez, Morticia, and Fester exchanged at the 'always happy' comment. He frowned pensively as he looked at the second sheet. "It says here your daughter, Wednesday, is...seven? And entering...third grade? Is there a mistake there?"

"Oh, nothing like that," Morticia assured him. "It's simply that she and her older brother Harry have a rather strong bond, so she studied extra hard to be in class with him. That won't be a problem, will it?"

Goodvibes frowned thoughtfully. "That's...unusual," he allowed finally. "I do my best to treat everyone fairly here, so the students never feel like anyone's getting special treatment. To bend the rules like this for one new student without providing anything for the others would be...unconscionable." He glanced over the family. "I can't even file it as a psychological consideration when I don't have the funds for a school counselor-"

"Grrngrrr..." Lurch interrupted as he set the chest down, opening it up and illuminating Goodvibes face in a golden glow.

"Are...are you offering me a _bribe_?" he demanded in distaste, his voice quavering somewhat at the sight of how bright the gold in the chest shone...and how much of it there was...

"Certainly not!" Gomez countered, offended. "You said you could not afford to make psychological considerations for your students. Consider this a...charitable donation to...rectify that deficiency."

Goodvibes perked up happily. "Now _that_ is something I can work with!" he declared happily. "I'll take care of the paperwork." Pulling out a slip, he wrote something down on it and handed it to Harry. "Children, take this to Miss Butterbean in class 13. She'll get you settled in."

"Thank you," Harry replied, taking the note and heading into the school with Wednesday close behind.

It didn't take them long to find room 13. Being an Addams gave them a strong sense for the supernatural, and that particular classroom had a strong focus of those energies barely contained. Opening the door, they saw the class was being taught by a young-seeming woman with brown hair and half-moon glasses wearing a blue dress. "Yes?" she asked blandly as she turned to look at them. "Can I help you?"

Harry held out the note with a smile.

Taking the note, she examined it. "Oh, new students," she observed dryly. "Great. I'm Miss Butterbean, your teacher." Glancing over the class, she gestured. "Take the open seats behind Billy and Mandy." She gestured to where two children were sitting. One was a young blonde girl in a pink dress. The other was a young boy in a red cap with a huge nose and no sign of intelligence in his beady little eyes.

"I call the torment," Wednesday murmured dryly as they approached, sitting behind the boy.

Shrugging, Harry took the seat behind the girl, who turned to look at him. "Aren't you dressed a little fancy for elementary school?" she asked dryly, her voice cold and calculating even as her gaze attempted to bore into him, as though the gaze alone had the power to make the weak willed fold up and spill all their deepest secrets to escape it.

Harry instantly recognized the voice. "So you're Grampa Grim's BFF," he concluded happily, feeling a trifle smug when her eyes widened in surprise at that assessment. "I'm Harry. Pleased to meet you." He held out his hand.

The girl looked at him and the extended hand for a time. When that gaze in no way made Harry flinch or hesitate, a slow smirk crossed her face. "Mandy," she replied, accepting the handshake. "You're going to be...interesting..." She paused as she heard the clicking of a bolt loaded into a crossbow, then quickly lifted her hand and caught the bolt Wednesday had launched at her. Turning, she saw no sign of the crossbow...and the bolt was nowhere to be seen when she looked at her hand. Her grin widened. "_Very_ interesting..."

"Thanks for the Q-tip, Mandy!" the boy next to her declared as he proceeded to clean his ear with the crossbow bolt...thankfully with the fletched end in his ear rather than the pointed end. "My ears were getting itchy."

Mandy sighed ruefully as she turned to the boy. "No problem, Billy..." Her voice trailed off as he stuck the pointed end of the bolt into his other ear.

Billy paused as he wiggled it around. "This end is a little dry..." he observed, his voice completely lacking in sarcasm...or intelligence.

"It seems we're not the only interesting ones," Harry observed thoughtfully, a mischievous smirk on his face.


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't long before Mandy extended an invitation for Harry and Wednesday to join herself and Billy at her house for an afternoon, an invitation Harry had been eagerly waiting for. After all, if Grandpa Grim was extra busy being her BFF, then it only made sense he would be at her house. As such, he would need to be invited there to meet with Grim regarding Deathwalking lessons and Wednesday's inability to use magic like he did. After all, barging in uninvited would simply be rude! The Addams were many things that 'polite society' found unconscionable, but they were _never_ rude!

As Mandy led the group to her place, Harry took in the sight of it for his first impression. The structure itself was a plain white two-story domicile, only a single room and balcony for the second floor and a brick chimney in the back. At first glance it seemed like a pleasant little abode, almost obnoxiously so...but a closer look showed that the house itself seemed to cringe away from Mandy as she approached, as though everything about the place were afraid to be anything less than perfectly pleasant for fear of displeasing her. The idea of someone so young with that much spiritual control of their surroundings was fascinating to Harry, and made him all the more eager to get to know his new friend. ...for some reason that escaped Harry's understanding, that excitement seemed to upset Wednesday.

As they reached the front door, Mandy turned towards Harry with a smirk. "My parents aren't home just now," she said, her voice somewhere between dry and wicked. "So whatever fun we get up to will be...unsupervised." Her eyes glinted as she saw Wednesday's eyes narrow in anger.

Harry, for his part, simply met that announcement with confusion. Why would one want to be unsupervised for at home fun? In his experience with such games at home, parents would join in which just made things even more fun. Eventually, he concluded this was an aspect of 'normality' that simply did not make sense, and assumed it would eventually.

As Mandy opened the door, however, there was a figure waiting there. Clad in a night black cloak with crimson trim stood a skeletal figure holding a scythe, no eyes in his bony sockets as he glowered down at Mandy, the sockets themselves shifting to show the narrowing of his eyes. "Now don't be thinkin' you'll be gettin' up to any funny business, Mandy," the figure declared in a familiar Jamaican accent. "And stop teasin' Wednesday. I don' wanna deal with the collateral if you two start goin' at it like cats in a sack over a boy who don't even know what you fightin' about!"

Mandy's smirk turned into an irritated frown. "What gives, Grim?" she demanded coldly. "I thought being my friend meant you were on my side."

"Not when me family is involved," Grim corrected as he let everyone in. "There's honor and code involved there. Besides, I've got responsibilities here. Need ta teach Harry how-"

"Before that, I'd like to know how it's possible you two are family," Mandy interrupted as she took a seat.

"I'm kinda curious too!" Billy spoke up with a dopey grin. "How can ya share flesh and blood when only one of you has that? I mean...do you take turns?"

Mandy stared at the idiot boy with a flat-eyed gaze. "For once Billy..._had_ a point." She turned back to Grim. "So?"

Grim shrugged as he gestured Harry and Wednesday into chairs. "Alright. Since I won't be gettin' a moment's peace to teach till I tell the story...do you want the simple version, or the complex?"

"Simple, please!" Billy asked eagerly.

"Through marriage," Grim responded immediately.

"You're married?" Mandy demanded intensely.

"No, but mah brother is, and he's still me bro even if Pops is put out with him," Grim corrected easily. "Not that he actually _is_, mind, not with all that plan nonsense and the necessity of free will..." Seeing only confusion directed his way - except from Billy, who had gotten distracted by a light spot reflecting off the scythe - Grim sighed. "Alright, let's start at the beginning, eh?" Taking hold of his scythe, he swept it through the air and reality around them tore away.

As the group flew through darkness, Harry felt his senses intensify. "Is this Deathwalking?" he asked eagerly.

"Part of it," Grim explained readily. "This be the land of the Dying, where those who have died but I ain't collected reside. It's a dangerous spot, as staying too long without proper protection - or being dead - can cause ye ta be consumed by the all devouring void. But if ye know what ye doing, ye can slip into here and out anywhere ye wanna go, long as ye know where yer goin'." As he finished speaking, they found themselves floating over a lush garden more beautiful and bountiful than any in living memory. "Welcome to Eden," Grim spoke up, before coughing awkwardly. "Well, the memory thereof. Nobody's allowed back in the real thang till certain things happen. Anywho..." Sweeping his scythe through the air, the group zoomed down towards the garden, to where they saw two humans. One was a tall, broad shouldered, dark haired man. The other was a tall, willowy, curvaceous blonde woman. "Do ye know the story o' Adam and Eve?"

"Who doesn't?" Mandy asked dryly. "They were the first humans, cast out of the Garden for eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. What about them?"

"Just establishing some groundwork," Grim stated as he swept his scythe again, and the group shifted towards the edge of the Garden. There was another woman, this one with hair as crimson as flames, stalking out of the garden with her head held high, not looking back, and flipping two birds back over her shoulder. "Might ye be guessin' who this spitfire be?" he continued with a nostalgic grin.

"That would be Adam's first wife, Lilith," Wednesday deduced calmly, a small smirk on her face. "The story says she was kicked out of the garden because she wanted to lie with Adam as equals, Adam wanted to be on top, God told her to listen to Adam, and she refused."

"Not entirely accurate," Grim allowed. "She weren't kicked out, she left of her own accord...after givin' Dad a right chewin' out for expectin' her ta bow to her man's every whim. As she put it, she weren't bindin' every woman ta come ta de facto slavery to their men just cause God didn'a like marital discord." Grim chuckled softly. "Left Pops in a right pickle it did, since he agreed in principle but had his own reasons fer wantin' men to be on top in the bedroom, least at first. So when Eve came around, Pops made her a little less bright and a little less strong-willed...which only backfired when the Serpent stuck his nose in." As the memory played forward, Grim chuckled as a pillar of flames appeared before Lilith as she stepped out of the garden. "Course, not everybody agreed with the situation."

As a shadowed figure appeared from the flames - one that gave the impression of once having shone so bright only to be cast into darkness - and bowed to Lilith, Grim continued. "Luey was real impressed with a mortal that'd chew Pops out the way he did. Made him reconsider Humanity as the purpose of creation if one could get away with that. Wanted her to be his bride if she didn'a want what God had planned." The shadowed figure stood and moved possessively towards Lilith, an eager glint in his eyes. "He were _really_ impressed."

"Did she say yes?" Mandy asked curiously.

Lilith promptly kneed the shadowed figure in the crotch making him bend over in obvious pain. "Not...at first," Grim allowed with a wince. "See, the whole thing was about establishing her own independence, and she wasn't about ta leave one controllin' man only to let another sweep her away. So they made a deal."

As the shadowed figure returned upright, his approach towards Lilith was _much_ more cordial. "If over the course of the following year she could establish herself independently outside the Garden and thrive, then _she_ would be the dominant force in their relationship when they wed. If not, he would be." Grim chuckled softly. "Not only did she succeed...but she did so despite - as she found out - already being with child."

"Wait, what?" Wednesday asked in surprise.

"Oh yes," Grim continued as he moved his scythe, shifting the scene to a small, well kept cave where Lilith could be seen tending a small, bedraggled, somewhat brutish little boy. "Didn'a let that stop her. By the time Luey came back ta check on her, she'd dominated a tribe of subhumans - the ones that would birth Cain's wife, among others - and ruled them with a gentle yoke that led them ta tryin' ta kill Luey when he came ta take her." The shadowed figure could be seen with a perplexed expression on his face as he walked up, several other brutish creatures clinging to him and trying to claw and bite at him, to no avail.

"Seein' she won the wager so spectacularly, Luey was ready to acknowledge her as his Queen," Grim continued as the shadowed figure bowed to Lilit...who promptly grabbed him by his ear and yanked him back to his feet. "She didn'a put up wit' that long. Said she told God that man and woman belonged side by side. She weren't fightin' ta be on top, just ta not be on bottom. Course, Luey's a beasty of his word, so he didn'a want to back down from what he wagered...so Lilith offered a trade."

The shadowed figure knelt before the child, weaving magic around him that settled into and infused him. "In exchange fer makin' sure that the bloodline of her son would _always_ thrive in this world, she'd be Luey's equal on the throne of Hell, where he'd made his Kingdom. With that done, they were wed, and Luey fathered the race of monsters upon Lilith's eager and willing form." A large black 'Censored' bar promptly appeared over the scene.

"As...fascinating as all this is," Mandy observed dryly, "what does that have to do with...?" She gestured to Harry and Wednesday.

Grim grinned widely. "See, Lilith were a spiteful sort, too. She wanted both God and Adam ta always remember what they'd done that she had to walk out and make her own way. That's why she asked fer what she did from Luey...and why she picked the family name she did for the line. So that when anyone asked whose kids they were, the world would always know her answer." His grin widened further. "They're Adam's." He chuckled softly. "Course, an extra 'd' found its way in there as language evolved..."

As Mandy's eyes widened in shock, Harry spoke up. "The magic 'Luey' weaved...that was the family magic wasn't it? And Lilith's son...that was Ugg."

"The start of it," Grim confirmed with a grin. "And yes, sort of. The 'Truth' of back then is rather malleable. But yes, Ugg was Lilith's son, but born in the shape of the rest of Unenlightened Humanity."

"Is that why Wednesday can't use the magic I can?" Harry pressed, holding up his sword.

Grim leaned forward and took a sniff. "In a manner o' speakin," he allowed. "The Clan Magic is that of the Spirit. The magic you be talkin' about be that of the World. The Addams' clan always been much more strongly tied to the Spirits than the World." He chuckled as the room they'd started in faded back into view. "And ye can see why." Seeing Mandy was still in a state of stunned shock, he leaned towards Harry. "Now, as fer lessons in Deathwalking..."


	10. Chapter 10

Grim's lessons in Deathwalking were rather simple and straightforward. As he explained, there were three parts to it: stepping into the land of the Dying; finding your destination; and stepping out of the land of the Dying. Since Harry could already instinctively do all three to someone he had a strong bond to, Grim decided the best way to teach him about what it felt like - and thus, how to do it with more control - was to expand the reach of where he'd been. As a result, Wednesday began going with whenever Grim took Billy and Mandy along for some sort of jaunt into another plain of existence, whatever the purpose of the trip. Harry would follow under his own power, and if he had problems following Grim could pull him out now that he knew the feel of his soul. Admittedly, Harry had yet to have any such problem as long as he had Wednesday to lock onto, though trying to lock onto the others proved more difficult and he frequently defaulted to locking onto Wednesday to pull himself out.

During this time, Mandy had occasionally attempted behaving flirtatious with Harry to rile up Wednesday, but quickly lost interest when she realized Harry was completely oblivious to her antics. Upon discovery that it wasn't just her - quite a few females they encountered on their jaunts also attempted flirting with Harry, only for him to be just as unaware of their intentions - she also set aside any malice she felt about it. She accepted that Harry and Wednesday were simply more friends...by a definition that did _not_ involve 'instant obedience to her whims' or 'barely tolerated meat shields', as much as that was an adjustment for her outlook.

It was on the latest such outing, however, that Mandy noticed something that she decided to voice. "Grim," she began calmly, "why are all the supernatural creatures we encounter afraid of Harry and Wednesday?"

Grim raised an eyebrow as the bartender at the underworld pub they'd stopped at set down their drinks, cringing away as he set a particular bubbling brew before Wednesday. "What makes you think they're afraid?" he asked carefully as he looked around, waiting for Harry to arrive.

"Grim, I've seen how the supernatural behaves around you," Mandy pointed out flatly. "Even the ones that treat you with respect do so in a familiar way with an almost playful touch. Not to mention the ones that plainly don't respect you and treat you with contempt." She was rather put out with those, though she wasn't quite sure why anymore. Once she thought it was the idea of the Grim Reaper, Death Himself, being treated like such a joke, but now... She banished those thoughts. "But that bartender looked ready to run the moment the tankard was on the counter, and look around us." She gestured to how they had a good six to seven feet of 'personal space' where they were sitting. "We've _never_ been given this much room no matter where we go, and the only difference is Wednesday. So why are they all so afraid of the Addams?" She raised an eyebrow as even mentioning the name caused a brief hush to fall over the pub before all other patrons shuffled awkwardly before focusing on their drinks. "And then there's the way they react to the name..."

Grim shrugged. "Okay, yeah, they've got somethin' of a reputation, I'll admit..."

"What kind of reputation gets that sort of reaction from kids?" Billy asked curiously.

Mandy frowned at having her question being asked before she could raise it, but gave Grim a look. After all, if even Billy was asking...

At that moment, there was something of a scuffle at the entrance to the pub. "One side, brat!" a hunched figure that looked like it was once bright and colorful but was now stained with gore of varying colors snarled. "You're too young for this place!"

"Well I wasn't intending on drinking," Harry observed calmly. "Wait...don't I know you?"

The figure Mandy now recognized as a clown - a particular clown, at that - froze before slowly giving Harry a more direct look. "...no, you're definitely mistaken," he whimpered in a high pitched voice. "I'm nobody important-"

Harry suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, you're the sewer spider-clown! Say, have those ectoluminescent organelles regenerated yet? Granny was really excited about those-"

"Not my deadlights!" Pennywise screamed in terror before diving out the nearest window, morphing into his spider-like form, and racing down the street as fast as he could go while screaming in terror the whole way.

Harry blinked after him. "I just wanted to be sure they _did_ regenerate," he observed thoughtfully. "Granny really read me the riot act about harvesting from a sapient without being sure of that..." Shrugging his shoulders, he made his way up to the counter as all the figures around pulled nervously away from him. "There you all are!" he declared happily. "I tried to lock onto the general location this time, and I was off by a few blocks. Took a while before I found someone who would give me directions." He happily took a seat next to Wednesday.

Grim turned to Billy and Mandy with a smirk. "_Especially_ the kids," he observed slyly. "Remember what I told you about the lineage? Think about what that 'blessing' means in a place like this...especially with where all 'monsters' sprang from and draw their strength from..."

Mandy frowned somewhere between worriedly and thoughtfully. "I...see..."

* * *

Dumbledore frowned as he carefully examined the rolls of parchment he had requested. There had to be a loophole, there just _had_ to! He had no idea why the Addams' would make off with the Potter family mausoleum, and by the ancient treaty between that clan and the Wizarding World he wasn't _allowed_ to investigate it - and on top of that he'd lost track of Harry Potter! He'd looked in on the Dursley's when he'd heard about the Addams' involvement, only to learn that Harry had never lived there to begin with, despite all the protection charms on the boy stating quite plainly that he was "with his family". Unfortunately, those charms didn't allow for backtracing, as they were meant to hide the one they were on from discovery, and having a way for someone to follow the spell to locate the subject would defeat the purpose of the spell.

As a result, Dumbledore had been perusing the treaty itself, trying to find a loophole that would let him investigate the Addams' actions directly, or at the very least inquire with them as for their reasons. Unfortunately, the clauses were very specific. In exchange for their aid in preventing aspects of the Wizarding World from becoming public knowledge - mostly by claiming credit for anything the Wizarding World couldn't cover up themselves, since something about the clan already made Muggles ignore their supernatural aspect while recognizing their eccentricity - the Wizarding World kept its nose out of anything the Clan got up to. There weren't even any clauses about communication with the Clan, for that matter. About the only clause that did allow Wizard intervention in the Family's affairs was if someone in the Clan was born with Wizarding magic, something that hadn't happened since before the treaty was made...and even then, any underage Witch or Wizard clan members weren't bound by the Underage Use of Magic laws _or_ the Statute of Secrecy...

Dumbledore set the parchment aside and groaned before once more glancing at the charms that at least told him how the boy _was_. Harry Potter - wherever he was - was alive, healthy, and happy, and his magic was developing nicely. That was all the spells were able to tell him...that and the fact that Hogwarts had already tagged the boy as a future student of the school, meaning his letter would reach him wherever in the world he was living. Once he received the letter, he would either attend Hogwarts, decline attendance entirely, or have the option of choosing a Wizarding school closer to wherever he was living.

Now if only Dumbledore could figure out where that _was_! James was the last living Potter before Harry, and Lily's only living relatives were Petunia and her son. What 'family' could Harry possibly be living with?


End file.
